By Ramatoulie Jawo
The National Assembly on Thursday commenced a budget discussion with different ministries on their 2023 draft estimates of revenue and expenditure. This was preceded by a rigorous engagement between the various ministries and the relevant National Assembly Committees to scrutinize their budget estimates item by item.
The budget estimates discussions will lead to cuts in certain areas and additions in areas like agriculture, health if needed and cutting down on budget deficit to reduce the burden of borrowing.
The strategy of the National Assembly in scrutinizing the Estimates is to encourage the government to reduce the budget deficit, reduce domestic borrowing, increase allocation to the productive sectors such as infrastructure, health, and education, in addition to putting emphasis, on youth and women’s concerns.
On Monday, 14th November, the Finance Minister, Honorable Seedy Keita, tabled the draft budget for 2023, and It is anticipated that the National Assembly, through its committees, through their overseeing functions, will monitor the implementation of the budget allocations to make sure they are utilized in the method and manner they were meant.